Well cleanout bailer



L. F. BRAUER WELL CLEANOUT BAILIERv Nov; 12, 1940.

Filed April 14, 1939 INVENTOR 4'00 Bfizwaer BY 4 674/ NEYS Patented Nov. 12, 1940 UNITED STATES.

PATENT OFFICE 1 WELL GLEANOUI Balms.

Leo F. Brauer, Oklahoma City, assignor to Brauer Machine a Supply Company, Oklahoma City, Okla, a corporation of Oklahoma Application April 14, 1939. Serial No. 267,847

6 Claims. (01. lac-1s) such as rock bits, reamerpins, bit heads, cones and the like.

In present day well bailers utilizing fluid circulation to force debris and the like into the bailer, a pivotal clapper valve is usually employed in order to entrap the debris in the bailer when there is a fluid stoppage. This method has a very particular disadvantage, because, with'the fluid pressure stirring the debris up, it is very difllcult for an operator at the top of the well hole to tell at what instance the debris is above the clapper valve in order todiscontinue fluid circulation at the proper time and allow the clapper valve to entrap the debris in the bailer.

It is therefore an important object of this in- 'vention to provide a bailer for cleaning out 011 and gas wells involving the use of fluid circulated through the bailer to cause lifting of any debris in the well into the bailer.

Another important object of this invention is to provide a bailer for cleaning out oil and gas wells having a flexible trapping member allowing debris in the well to be forced therethrough by fluid circulation to trap the debris in the bailer.

And still another important object of this invention is to provide a bailer for cleaning out 011 and gas wells having a frusto-conical shaped flexible sleeve adapted to be expanded by debris forced against it by the-fluid pressure to allow passage of the debris through the sleeve into the bailer.

An additional object of this invention is to provide a bailer for cleaning out oil and gas wells, having an apertured flexible trapping member through which debris is forced by fluid circulation, and of such construction that it may be disposed at a point near the lower end of .the bailer without the danger of being damaged by the debris being stirred up by the fluid.

And still a further object of this invention is to provide a frusto-conical shaped flexible trap valve for an oil well bailer which is less susceptible of being damaged, durable, and can be easily an cheaply replaced.

Other objectsand advantages of my invention will be evident from the following detailed description read in conjunction with the accompanying drawing which illustrates one form of my new invention. i

In the drawing: i

Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view taken on lines ll of Fig. 2 showing the invention disposed in a well hole.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on lines 2--2 of Fig. 1.

Fig.3isav'lewtaken onlinesHofFig. 1. 5

Fig. 4 is a detailed perspective view of the flexible valve member.

Referring to the drawing in detail and more particularly to Fig. 1 the improved bailer or junk basket as it is commonly called in the oil inlo The cylinder 6 is disposed in spaced relation to ll the well casing l2. A plurality of longitudinal bores or ports l4 arranged in spaced relation to each other are provided in the wall of the cylinder 6. Any number of bores may be utilized but as clearly shown in Figs. 2 and 3, three bores 90 are preferable. The bores l4 are in communication with the recess II and extend the full length of the cylinder 6.

The lower portion of the cylinder 6 is provided with a reduced threaded portion l6 adapted 25 to receive a cylindrical bottom shoe l8. Avalve member or sleeve 20 is constructed with a frustoconical shaped body portion 22provided with an outwardly depending rim or flange 24. The apex of the body 22 is provided with an aperture 26.

The trusto-conical shaped body 22 is formed from soft or sponge-like rubber or the like, while the flange 24 molded to the body 22 is formed from hard rubber or the like. The sleeve 20 is disposed in a chamber 20 provided by the cylinder 2, with the flange 24 anchored between the lower end 29 of the cylinder 6 and an annular retaining ring 30 supported by a shoulder- 32 of the shoe l8. It will be apparent that threadlng of theshoe member ll to the portion l8 secures the rubber .40

sleeve 20 in the chamber 28 of the cylinder 6.

The shoe I8 is provided with a plurality (preferably three) of longitudinal bores 34 adapted to bedisposed in axial alignment with the bores 14 when the shoe II is secured tothe cylinder 6. 45

circumferentially spaced apertures are pro- 56 vided in the shoe l8 for a purpose as will be herematter set forth. 3

Operation In operation the junk basket in complete as- 56 sembly is lowered into the well by a string of tubing (not shown) and is allowed to rest on the bottom of the well hole with the teeth 88 encompassing any debris or the like that is present in the well hole. Fluid, under pressure, such as gas or liquid, is introduced into the tubing from a source of supply from the top of the well (not shown) and flows from the tubing through the recess III, the longitudinal bores l4 and 34, into the chamber 28 of the cylinder 8. The disposition of the bailer in the well hole causes a substantial sealing which directs the flow of fluid through the bailer rather than into the space ll between the cylinder 8 and the casing l2. The apertures 40 allow a small amount of input fluid to discharge therethrough in order to prevent sticking of the bailer in the well formation. However, it will be apparent that the discharge of fluidv from the apertures 40 is not suflicient to substantially decrease the flow of fluid into the chamber 28.

The flow of fluid from the bores I4 and Ill stirs up any debris encompassed by the cylinder 8 and the shoe l8, and where the debris is bf small dimensions it will be forced by the fluid through the aperture 28 into the chamber 28. The cylinder 8 is provided with a plurality of outlet ports 42 (preferably three in number) spaced from the bores II to allow discharge of the fluid from the chamber 28 and'up the casing l2. When larger pieces of debris, such as rock bit cones, and the like are encompassed by the cylinder 8, the pressure of the fluid will force the cone or the like into contact with the body 22 of the valve 20 and due to the flexibility of the rubber body 22, it will have a tendency to conform to the contour of the odd shaped cone and more or less plugthe aperture 28 through which the fluid is allowed to pass. This plugging of the aperture 28 will in turn cause the fluid pressure to be increased, thereby increasing the force of the cone or debris acting against the rubber body member 22 to cause the body member 22 to expand and increase the size of the aperture 28 to allow the cone or debris to be forced into the chamber 28.

It will be apparent that with the debris in the chamber 28 the body member 22 contracts and the aperture 28 returns to its original size, thus entrapping the debris in the chamber 28 without necessarily shutting off the fluid circulation. It will be apparent that the fluid discharges through the outlet ports 42, which are of such size to prevent any passage of the debris. This operation can be repeated many times until the chamber 28 is full of the debris, when it can then be pulled from the well hole and emptied by merely unthreading the shoe I8 from the cylinder 8 to allow removal of the frusto-conical sleeve 20.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that the frusto-conical shaped valve member 20 is capable of an infinite number of variations as to size and shape of the aperture 28 to more efficiently entrap odd shaped and larger sized debris in the junk basket. Furthermore, the valve can be placed at a point closer to the lower end of the cylinder 8 or in proximity of the debris without any substantial danger of being damaged due to the stirring up of the debris.

Changes may be made in the combination and arrangement of parts as heretofore set forth in the specification and shown in the drawing,,it being understood that any modification in the ecise embodiment of the invention may be made within the scope of the following claimswithout departing from the spirit of the invention.

What I claim is:

1. A well cleanout bailer disposed at the bottom of a well hole and in spaced relation to the casing of the hole, and comprising a cylinder having a plurality of longitudinal bores adapted to receive a fluid under pressure, a cylindrical shoe member secured to the lower end of the cylindera plurality of bores in the shoe member in axial alignment with the cylinder bores and communicating with the interior of the cylinder for directing passage of the fluid into the cylinder, a frusto-conical valve having a continuous periphery interposed between the lower end of the cylinder and the shoe for entrapping debris in the cylinder, an aperture in the apex of the valve, said valve so constructed and arranged to allow variation in the size of the aperture whereby various sized debris can be forced through the aperture by the fluid.

2. A well cleanout bailer disposed in spaced relation to the casing in a well hole, and comprising a cylinder having means adapted to receive a fluid under pressure, a cylindrical shoe member secured to the lower end of the cylinder, means in the shoe member in axial alignment with the first mentioned means and communicating with the interior of the cylinder for directing passage of the fluid into the cylinder, means having a continuous periphery disposed in the cylinder for entrapping debris therein, an aperture in the entrapping means, said 'entrapping means so constructed and arranged to allow variation in the size of the aperture.

3. A well cleanout bailer disposed in spaced relation to the casing in a well hole comprising a cylinder adapted to receive a fluid under pressure, a cylindrical shoe member secured to the lower end of the cylinder, a valve interposed between the lower end of the cylinder and the shoe member for entrapping debris in the cylinder, said valve comprising a soft, rubber conical body having an aperture in the apex thereof, said aperture adapted to be varied in size by expansion of the conical body due to fluid pressure forcing debris there against.

4. A well cleanout bailer disposed in spaced relation to the casing in a well hole, comprising a cylinder having a plurality of longitudinal bores adapted to receive a fluid under pressure, a cylindrical shoe member secured to the lower end of the cylinder, a plurality of bores in the shoe in axial alignment with the cylinder bores for directing passage of the fluid into the cylinder, a plurality of circumferentially spaced apertures in the shoe member allowing discharge'of fluid therethrough to prevent sticking of the bailer in the well hole, means disposed in the cylinder for entrapping debris therein, an aperture in the entrapping means, said entrapping means so constructed and arranged to allow. variation in the size and shape of the aperture.

5. A bailer for removing debris from a well hole comprising a cylinder adapted to be disposed at the bottom of the well casing, said cylinder adapted to receive a fluid under pressure, a cylindrical shoe secured to the lower end of the cylinder, a plurality of circumferentially spaced apertures in the shoe allowing discharge of fluid therethrough to prevent sticking of the bailer in the well hole, a valve disposed in the cylinder for trapping debris in the cylinder, said valve comprising a soft rubber conical body member having an aperture in the apex thereof, said aperture adapted to be varied in size by expansion of the conical body member.

6. A well cleanout bailer disposed in a well hole comprising a cylinder adapted to receive a fluid under pressure, flexible means having a continuous periphery disposed in the cylinder for entrapping debris encompassed by the cylin- 

